Fruit-basket lid



Nov. 13, 1928.

G. -O. RESHAW FRUIT BASKET LID Filed Jan. 5, 1928 Patented Nov. 13,1928.

GEORGE 0. RESHAW, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN.

FRUT -BASKET LID.

Application filed January 5, 19x28. Serial No. 244,737.

The invention relates to covers for baskets such as those used inshipping apples, and it is the principal aim of such invention to`provide a new and improved cover having unusual flexibility andstrength, allowing its peripheral hoopto be forced into contact withandheld against the basket rim without danger of breaking said hoop loosefrom the cover slats, even though the fruit in the basket may be ratherhighly crowned.

The cover herein disclosed'is of a type n which one of the slatsprojects from the peripheral hoop for engagement with the usual baskethandles, and while this slat 15 must be comparatively strong and thick,the

having an attached liner of cardboard or' other desired yieldablematerial, which not only covers the lower sides of 4the slats but alsocovers the innersi de of the above-named hoop, protecting the fruit frominjuryby saidV slats and hoop.

lVith the foregoing inview, the invention resides lin the novel subjectmattenhereinafter described and claimed, the description beingsupplemented by the accompanying drawing.

Fig. l is a top plan view vof the cover applied to a basket.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line 2 2 ofirigi n c Fig. 3 is afragmentary lbottom plan view .of the cover. v

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4ofFig.1. Y

The form of Aconstruction herein disclosed may be consideredaspreferred, and while this construction will .be yspecifically described,it is to be understood that within the scope of the invention asclaimed, variations may be made.

The peripheral hoopl 5.of the cover is formed of wood and is rather thinand narrow to permit free flexibility, said hoop bei ing preferably ofabout eleven-sixteenths of an inch in width and fivc-thirty-seconds ofan inch in thickness. lilxtendinr diametrically across the! spacecircumscrbed by this hoop, are a number of thin veneerV slats 6, theseslatsfbeing preferablyof Vabout two inches in width and one-sixteenthof'an inch` in thickness. Theslats 6 are freely flexible and aredisposed in crossed relation, with their ends spaced apartcircumferentially', and said slats are so disposed as toform twodiametrically opposite openings 7 of a width considerably greater thanthat of the remaining spaces'between the slat ends.` A 70handle-engaging slat 8 of greaterthickness than the slats 6, passesthrough the openings 7 and has its end portions disposed upon the upperedge of the hoop 5,'the intermediate portion of said slat 8 being passedunder the intermediate portions of the thin veneer slats 6. kA nail 9 orother desired fastening means passes through the central portions oflthe slats 6 and 8 and is clinched upon-the lower side of the latter,tightly connecting all of said slats with each other and at the sametime holding said Aslat 8 against longitudinal sliding. This slat 8 isheld against edgewisc movement by engagement'wth the slats 6 at oppositeedges of theopenings 7. The ends of the slat 8 project in the usualmanner beyond the hoop 5, for engagement with the usual wire handlesl()k of a fruit basket 11.

kA basket covcr having the characteristics so farA described, kpossessesnumerous ad-l vantages. It may beV easily and inexpensivelymanufactured, even fromgreen wood, and whether such woodbe stillsomewhat green or seasoned when the cover is put vinto use, said coverwill be unusually flexible and f hence the peripheral hoop 5 may beforced into contact with the basket rim l2 and held in contact withsaidV rim bythe usual means, even though the fruit in the basket may berather highly crowned. The thinness of the slats 6 and the hoop 5 is notonly of advantage in permitting this unusual flexibility of the cover,but in effecting a great saving in cost of manufacture. On account ofthe thinness of the hoop 5, it would be impractical to staple ornailthe'handle-engaging strip 8 against the upper edge of this hoop,

Vas there would be severe danger of splitting the latter. Theconstruction shown and de- ,110

Vtov

scribed however, effectively maintains the strip 8 in proper placewithout thenecessity of securing it to the hoop.

In the preferred form of construction, I transversely score the endportions of the thin veneer slats 6 and turn the outer' ends of saidslats downwardly at 14, at the inner side of the hoop 5, and in order toreinforce these slats against possible breakage at the weakened portions18, I provide short reinforcing strips 15 of cardboard or other desiredmaterial. These strips lie upon the end portions of the slats and aresecured to them by staples or `the like 16, and the outer" ends of saidstripsv 15 are turned downwardly at 17 between the slat ends 14 and thehoop, 5, said downwardly turned ends 14-17 being secured to said hoop,

preferably by staples 18 passing through these parts. This constructioninsures that the thin veneer slats 6 shall not break loose from the hoop5, when the cover is being applied to a basket in which the fruit israther highly crowned. The cover may, if desired, .be manufactured in asomewhat crowned form as shown in Fig. 2, but this is not essential.

A liner19 of cardboard or any other desired yieldable material, coversthe lower sides of the slats 68 and has its peripheral edge 2O turneddownwardly against the .inner sides of the downwardly turned ends 14 ofthe slats 6, said peripheral edge beingl split at 21 to facilitatedownward turning of said edge. Vhile the edge 20 may be secured in anydesired manner, the free ends of the staples 18 preferably pass throughsaid edge and are clinched thereon, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.l Thus,inaddition tocovering the slat ends 14 and the inner side of l the hoop5 to 'prevent them rominjuring the fruit, it will be seen that theflange 2O acts as a washer Vbetween the clinched ends ofthe staples 18and the ends 14 of the thin veneer slats 6, overcoming any danger ofsplitting said slat ends when clinching the ,the staples were clinchedVdirectly against said ends.

If desired, in addition tothe fastening means 18 passing through theflange or downturned edge 20 of the liner 19, one or more tacks or thelike 22 may connect the central portion oi' this liner with the slat V8,

,andif desired, the fasteneror fasteners 22 may be oi ya length toextend also through the central portions of the slats 6. v

Preferably, the liner 19 is formed with vopenings '23 communicating withthe spaces between the numerous slats, for purpose of ventilation.

In addition to possessing the advantages above pointed out, the novelconstruction herein disclosed, is such that it may be readilymaufactured vby machine operations= oi the staples 18. so that thesestaples may v be driven through 14-20. y

y 0n account of the excellent results obtainable from the detailsdisclosed, such details are preferably followedf However, 'within thescope of the invention as claimed, variations maybe made and while Ihave disclosed a number :of advantageous features embodied in a singlebasket cover,it is to be understood that said features'may beadvantageously used' independently of all of.. the parts 5417*- eachother. I claim:

1. A basket cover comprising a hoop, a plurality of slats lhaving theirends turnedv downwardly and disposed at the inner side of said hoop, ayieldable liner `covering the lower sides of said slats and having adownwardly turned edge contacting with the inner sides of saiddownwardly turned slat ends, and I fasteners passing through said hoop,said slat ends and said liner edge; said downwardly turned liner edgeconstituting a washer between which and said hoop Vsaid slat ends aresecurely held.

2. AA basket cover comprising a plurality of slats of veneer havingdownwardly turned ends, short reinforcing strips secured upon the uppersides of said slats at the outer end portions of the latter,'said stripshaving downwardly turned outer ends lying against the outer sides ofsaid downwardly turned slat ends, a hoop lying against said downwardlyturned strip ends`,'a yieldable liner covering the lower sides of saidslats vand yhaving a downwardly turned edge .lying `against the innersides of said downwardly turned slat ends, and fasteners passing throughsaid hoop, said downwardly turned strip and slat ends, andsaiddownw'ardly turned liner edge. n y' 3. A basket cover comprising ahoop, crossed slats having their ends secured to said hoop, said slatsbeing disposed to pro- .vide two diametrically opposed openings, a

handle-engaging slat passing through said openings and having'its endportions disposed upon the ,upper'edge of said hoop,

the intermediate portion of said handle"-V engaging slat being disposedunder said crossed slats, and means holdmgsaid'handleengaging slatagainst endwise movement,

said slat being held against edgewise movement by the slats at the edgesof said open- A basket cover comprising a thin freel)7 flexible woodenhoop, crossed slats of thin freely flexible veneer having downwardlyturned ends secured to a vertical side of said hoop, said slats beingciroumferentially Y spaced at theirends and disposed to provide disposedupon the upper edge of said hoop, the intermediate ortion of said slatbeing disposed under sald veneered slats, and fastening meanspassing-through said veneer and handle-engaging slats; said asteningmeans holding said handle-engaging slat; against endwise movement,edgewise movement of this slat being prevented by the portions of thecrossed slats at oppostesides of said openings. l

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

GEORGE o. RESHAW.

